Variable-speed mechanism.



PATENTED JULY 31', 1906.

A. w. PUPKE.- VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM. APiLIGATION FILED 0OT.3 1905.

' PATENTEDJULY a1, 1906. A. W. PUPKE. VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 0013, 1905.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3. V

v UNITED sTATnsPATENT OFFICEI ARNOLDWQ YPUPKEI, or NEW YO K; N t 'VARIABLE-SPEED;MECHANISIVL- No. 827,11 9. I

co'acting parts, illustrated in broken" lines.

Fig; Zillustr'at'es a plan'view ofthat which? is shown'in Fig.1 Fig. 3 illustrates an elevation oft'he controller separated from allother parts. Figs. 4', 5, and e'illustrate the intermediate speed-differentiating broken gears in the positions which they respectively occupy in=Figsz1I and'2. Fig; 7 illu'strates aneleva'- tion,with side plate's're'rnoved; substantially as in Fig';' 1', ofamodified construction. Fig. 8 illustrates -a planview substantial ly as-Fig. 2 of the modified construction shownin e'le- 'vati'on'in Fig. 7 I I t r Beforedescribing theinyention indetail'I willstate generally its construction and neth 0d of operation. The mechanism e'mhodies a-driving shaft; which maybe; the motor shaft'o'r one' geared' toit which I will call the pOweFshaft. It is also supplied" with a driyen'shaft; or that which carries, directly or indirectly, the driving' wheels of an; automo bile, the pr'opeller'in 'an autoboat, or the cor-' responding partin other mechanism. Upon each of these shafts is a gear; preferably, but

ed to rotation:

not necessarily, a' spur-gear; fTh'ey n 'ay, however, be gears o'f any' preferred" con struction. Between" these two gears is'arranged acou ntershaft which acts" merely asfla support for the broken gears, through which 1 effect; the differential speeding of the machine; and'uponit are" mounted three or more-sectional or' broken gears which operate "as hereinafter explained; They may-all run loose upon the counter-shaft 0r"a'ny o ne:o'f' thern' rnay-be fixed upon it; the vothersrunning loose, for} it is immaterial whether that'shaiftbe stationary or adapt- The mechanism likewise 1 embodies'a' system of levers'ortheir' equivaa's shownin the modified formherein" illhsjtrated anddescribed andfia" controller which e'o'a'cts with them; *If the leversare Specification of Letters' Patentf 1 employed} theyere' arranged pairs, the

n'unibe'r'of' whichwill d'epend" upon the 5 ber of intermediate' broken gears used,-

In the" example illustrated; where -I' show three intermediate brokengears, thre'ey airs of these levers are reopen-ed; Each pair oflevers is provided withen'antifrictionerolleriat' their meeting ends, and at one end of one nie'n'i'her of each pair" a" pin or'equiyalentQ'd'e'ViQe connec't'sW-ith' one of theinterrnediate br'oli'n gears, each pair'," however; conne'etingwith separate brokengear. The antifric'tion roll ers' of each pair; are eds; ted tov engage'with an instrumental-ity'whic I" call the fem troll'er. This controller is a" structure? ad justable're'lative to theaxis'of thecountershaftwhic'h carries the broken gearsandis provided a curved surface adapted to engage with the antifri'ction-rollers' upon each pair of le'vers' above referred to. As stated,

this controller is adapted to "be adj ustedjc'oncentric ally as well 'as 'ecc entrjicaHy r 'elatiye to the aX'isof' the'c'ounter-shafti "1hebr :en gears" are so arranged that thefinterrrnssions in'the cogs thereefa e:eutof e incidence each other and the interniissions in efac-h wheel extend" preferably over" slightly 'rnore than" one-half the ircumference thereof? 1 say preferably, because certain j of theiad vantages resulting my invention. may be realized if the 'brolien awa'y-or fihterrnit'ted part of'ea'c'h gear lSIIOl? so extensive as aboye I stated; I prefer',jhoweyer;- that the 'teethin each 'gearshall be'int'erniitted somewhatni'ore than throughout I half" the circumference as,'for example; in i the illustrations here" p're-i' sented the periphery of each" of the inter posed speed-differentiating gear'ls is ail-a ted to thirty-sixjteeth, one-halfof whichjwou d be eigihteen; Whereas they e'ach embody sixteen on y t s x a The mechanism in operation eifectsthe'foh lowingresults't. e'.,;although the'-motor-gefar .lnay revolve with uniforrnspeed; yet through the peculiar construction and arrangement of the interposed broken ge'arsand theirfcoacti-Ve o eration" thespeed transmitted to the driven orload c'arrying' geafniay be-re'dil'ced or increased as: compared with that of the v motor g'ear', depending-upon'theedjustinent v of the controller.

Iwis'hhere to state thatthe fimdememel system of ri ciple inyolyed'inf this present inyention di ffersfro'm that'set forth in' aniappliaation for'lietters Patent" filed by me the" 36* day" or August, 1965-; serier-No;

272,459, in that the present invention embodies features which under certain circumstances will effect an improvement over that set forth in my said pending case, because in this present construction the periodical, although momentary, coincidences in speed between the motor-gear and the driven gear construction. 7

I Will first describe the ravens-611' as it is v illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6; but'I wish here to state that the two constructions which I have shown and described in this specification are given as desirable examples, but not by any means the only forms in which my invention may be embodied, because it will be obvious to those who are familiar with such matters that the results attained may be realized in mechanisms of a considerable variety'of forms or details of construction. .Itherefo're do not limit myself to the forms "specifically shown and described. A A represent any suitable frame or'support for the apparatus, which in the illustrations are held 'in 'proper 'relation'to' each other by crossbolts B and spacing-sleeves C. These parts will of course in the "actual mechanism be constructed as preferred or be parts of the vehicle, vessel, or the like, as the case may be. D is the motor-shaft; E, the motor-gear keyed thereon. F is the driven shaft, upon Which the driving-wheels, propeller, or equivalent part, as the case may be, are mounted. G is the driven gear thereon. H is a counter-shaft upon which are loosely supported three broken gears I I I As heretofore stated, there may be more than three of these broken or speed-differentiating gears, if desired, and they may all of them turn loosely upon the counter-shaft H or one of them may be fixed thereon. These intermediate gears are illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 in the same relative position they occupy in Figs. 1 and 2, and it will be observed that, as heretofore stated, the cogs thereon extend over not quite one-half their circumferences, respectively, although the cogs may be more extended, if desired. 'Each of these gears is provided, preferably at or near the center of the cogge'd or toothed section, with a laterally-extending stud or supporting-trunnion J J J". The trunnion J projects laterally from its broken gear I only a sufficient dissiaziio tance to properly engage with the pair of levers (about to be described) which coact with that broken gear. The trunnion J on the broken gear I, on the contrary, has added length equal to the width or thickness of the gear I, because it has to pass across the broken-away portion of that gear in order that it may engage with its pair of levers. Similarly the trunnion J 2 of the broken gear I is longer than that of the broken gear I by a length equal to the width of that gear, so that it may pass across the broken-away parts of both gears I and I and engage with its pair of levers. 1 1 are the pair of levers which pertain to the broken gear I. They are connected to it by the trunnion J, as heretofore stated, and K is the antifriction-roller at the angle or joint between this air of levers. '2 2 are the second pair of evers-in other words, those which pertain to the broken gear Iand they are connected with it by the trunnion J, to which same trunnion one of the levers 1 is likewise connected, and

I K is the antifriction-roller for this pair of levers. 3 3 are the pair of levers which pertain to the broken gear I and they are connected therewith by the trunnion J to which likewise one of the levers 2 is connected, and K is the antifriction-roller for this pair of levers. The lever 3 to complete the system of pairs of toggle-levers is likewise connected with the trunnion J of the broken gear I. It will thus be seen that each pair of levers forms a connecting-link between two of the broken gears. L is the controller. Its shape is best shown in Fig. 3. It has a guiding-surface M of a general semicircular contour and slots N N, through which pass supporting-studs O O, with spacing-blocks P P or other confining means. Q is the controller-lever, which is preferably pivoted between its ends and connected with the controller by slot-and-bolt connection R S and is of course provided with the usual'locking rack and pawl. Any equivalent device may be employed. The controller, as indicated in Fig. 1, is adapted to longitudinal ,movement relative to the gearing above described, during which movement the stay-pins or bolts O O slide through the slots N in;the controller, and this adjustment of the. controller may be such that the center of the substantially semicircular opening N therein shall be in the same vertical line as the axis of the counter-shaft H or to the right of it, as shown in Fig. 1, when reduction of speed is desired, or to the left of it when increase of the speed is desired, and the mechanism is so arranged that the antifriction-rollers K K K above described of the system of levers will during the rotation of those levers engage with and be controlled by the substantially semicircular surface of the controller. The operation, therefore, is as follows: It will be assumed that the motor-gear E revolves at I therof he. =brp'keh gear'sWill-Them v bt'er-geapqrthedriven gear;

tthebroken-geafl? is in mesh h cefitialhne,{theintehtbeing (It w llg e no e that when wJ S b 9 9 161 ar he, result of whic is obviously m sfor mt t i e hkewlse s p ltltioiibfitlleh roc s;

" h re-a w ghteheh" q lahtv on ofthebroken geehs"wilt fi h-W h the' ri .e1i r;Gr mpar tith i th-ii 'o i lj ithe." bther -ofythesie imain- -'drawings, erticularlylri 1,

' .gEjalthoughjust elb'out t'e 7 1 same' speed as'it' mid-through the i sti uinen H t'a'lity 'ef'it'sipajirofjle jers- :;and antifriction 14 1 .9 m? 'i f sij fi (71011141 t r vmm m' h'wv i hh e v tr 'o'll e Illth S Eigt lgi s -s l lifted -tothefs tine way) travels ove'li the'vgraduallye expa l'iding' surface ofj'the'controller the posi I L. .tionslbf the-broken geai'fs I? and- 1 relative to i.

' ea eh other-ehange that istofsey, the gearfl 7 ear,- butf the gear-If; since the controller 'isi nh I *dbereversed.- A1sb,'-'if;,the controller-$106 10 lsp'e'dgz m i mit edf by" eaniGgis fe'qesf' s'arilyreduced.

thet eeth'et'Ijafeehewhesshghtlflagging bee. 1 the adjacent teeth,efthe-gear'p;,ifilhis v e ,ie-ttakin'g place during theperiod- OffSlOW moyein ent 0f theb rokenigea'r I, so that by ,theitime'theffir st tooth of thebroke gear I -'e'ri'ga',gesjwith the teeth Ofthedtiven'geztr G gage Withthe' motor-gear ,Efind, .trztvel et the Teller cojecting with lthe eccentricallyea1'- 'rangedbearing surfteexef"th eon'trellerathe I V e re t is'jefi'ected when-thespeed is; reduced, slide f pleenly, the other two successively operate ,willh'b e driven at the same s'peedas-the mot'ora lpfds'ition to the rightysothat itstjworking 'surfiaeeexpand'srelati vetotheeouhtefshaftI I in other words; shows" an ehlarging radius 1 thati its center lies 'te the left of the axisof the'countershaftvH, thenthe relative*meve-- t ments 9f the broken gearhweuld O bi ously Gated exeetly" midway, 1 ed that, its central lineis' infthefsame ve tieal vplane aSQthe" egxi's friet i on rpllers a s they sucjfi essively complete their 7 revolution properly. ,t'oythe entering end )f the I controller ethat ls-t9, say, theengagemo tor g a ean thee vengea i u h-that 'theitjeethjof I? end l lwill b e1cQiheident- .111 f {this lWay1 s u'ccessively the' lgrglgenl gears em 85 rough which'th e power trenemissi'o'n 1 'tow'ard' one anethe'r, ,whereas'when-thecon I v Holler; is"'shiftedtothfother sidetof theaxis 6f the counte'r-shaft the-two pewei tra'nsmit j tingfgears wil-Lstartto ether and slide away v from each other; In 0t er words ,vajs the anti-.- e ,ffietidn'-r011er(this is taken a s-jan' examgrog about theshaftTH? et iggfigcfi adesirable iresult; beeauseitaids ixi prese tinggth-eenti- 7 t h the latterbe an exact circle.

the semicircular surface thereof, as already described, until it approaches the rear or leaving end. At this point the gear I comes into engagement with the driven gear G, both the gears I and I being then in engagement with that gear. From this point the two will move concentrically about the shaft H, and the antifriction-roller K will therefore also revolve concentrically about the shaft H until the point is reached where the broken gear I leaves the driven gear G. It will be found that at this point the roller K touches the hypothetical prolongation of the curved surface of the controller, and since the fact is that irrespective of the position of the broken gears if constructed as shown in the drawings all of the antifriction-rollers will always touch or be interiorly tangent to a circle which engages any two of them, the radius of which circle will always be found to be the same, at this point having one roller in engagement with the controller and the other in contact with the hypothetical prolongation of the curved surface thereof, the third roller will also be on that circle, and therefore be in proper registration with the entering end of the controller. It should here be suggested that owing to the irregular course described by certain of the parts in their revolution therewill be a trifling divergence from the movements above suggested; but they areso exceedingly trifiingas to be entirely unimportant in mechanism of this class and too small to be indicated upon the drawings, since the thickness of a draftsmans line would more than compensate therefor. In order, however, that the operation of the mechanism may be described with accuracy, the statement is made that when the controller is placed in a position about midway between its concentric and'extreme eccentric positions then the antifriction-roller about to enter the controller will theoretically overreach to a minute degree the curve thereof if For this rea- 'son the entering end of the controller may beneficially be slightly enlarged. This divergence is so small that, as statedabove, it

cannot be indicated in Patent Oflice drawings and it will be more than compensated for by lost motion and the inevitable spring of the parts. It will be further noted that whereasit is impossible with but two intermediate or broken gears to effect the transmission without momentary acceleration of speed it is possible so to do when three or broken gears are employed more than half.-

the teethmay be removed from each. broken gear, and thus simultaneous intermeshing of any of the broken gears with the motor-gear and the driven gear is impossible. In this way uniform, smooth, and unvarying yet differential speed, either increased or decreased, may be transmitted to the driven gear, or, if desired, when all things are brought to a position of neutrality or, so to speak, centralized the same speed may be transmitted and in all these instances without shock, jar, or racking effect upon the mechanism.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, they illusstrate a construction in which the same result is attained by modified mechanismthat is to say, the motor-gear and driven gear andcontroller having a curved workin surface in this construction I show a circuIar disk a, which is pivoted at b to a sliding controllerplate 0, which is slotted at d to allow requisite longitudinal movement and is supported upon stay bolts or studs 0. The controllerlever Q is or may be the same as before, and it is pivoted, as at f, to any suitable part of the controller-plate c. The plate is suitably supported upon and slides in ways made in a bed or in blocks 9 g. The guide-blocks g are employed for greater solidity and durability in the construction. The controller-blade may be guided and supported upon the studs 0 only, if preferred, or in any other suitablem anner. In this construction the counter-shaft II should preferably be a stud-shaftin other words, like a trunnion, so as not to interfere with the toand--fro movement of the control ler and coacting partsand likewise should be provided with a lock-bolt or its equivalent for the proper retention of the broken gears in position. h. h h are three studs rigidly set in the face of the disk a, which engage in slots 71 i 'L, which are made radially in the several broken gears, the outer parts of which slots are somewhat enlarged to allow simultaneous and coincident movement of two adjacent broken gears during the period they both en.- gage either of the main gears. It willbeseen that when the controller-plate carrying with it the revolving disk a is moved to the right or left of the axis of the counter-shaft or stud H, thereby the control exercised upon the broken gears. by the studs h or rollers on them, which work in the slots 11 in said gears, will effect the same relative movements of the" broken gear as do are pairs of pivoted leversndantirrietion-roHers in conjunction with the curvedsurface of the controller in the construction shown iniFigs; 1 to '6-'t'hat( --with this art-that while," my invention is cap'ableqof extensive use in conjunctionj with various mechanisms t s peculiarly adapted toautomobiles, autoboats, and the like, and

that it has anumber of advantages which, so far'as -I' am aware, have never been attained before that is to'say, the transmissionis effected in'a smoothshockless manner andby positively-acting mechanism devoid of frie tional' transmission of any kind, that the differentiation may be accomplished while" I the machinery is in motion without throwing' out one gear and throwing in another, which proceeding is attendant with danger of stripping, disagreeable shocks, and tendency to rupture the mechanism; also that my apparatus -is substantially noiseless and that there are no violent forward thrusts which are per'ceptiblein change'of speed in most or at least many other mechanisms, excepting in frictional transmission devices, which are inadequate for other than light work, and as applied toelectric motors and other prime movers my invention is peculiarly useful because it enables a chan e of speed, hence variation of power, wit out change in the current and without breaking contacts. o I

I present the two forms described and illustrated as examples merely ofconstructions in which my invention may be embodied, and 1 I do not limit myself to the special details of construction there presented, because they may be departed from and still the essence of the invention be present.

I claim 7 y 1. In mechanism of the class stated the c'ombination of a motor-shaft and a driven shaft, a gear upon the motor-shaft, another gear upon .the'driven shaft, speed-difierentiating gears interposed between them adapted to independent movement relative .to each other, none of which are in mesh with both the motor-gear and the drivengears at the same time, mechanism brought into'action by the resistance of the load to the power, whereby the difierentiating gears are caused to shift position relative to each other and means to regulate and control such shift of position.

combination of a motor-s 'af 2; In echanism cf the class; tated the Gambia-anchors meta it anira driven shaft, a gear uponthemotgrhartf, and er gear upon" the 1 drir'ren shaft, sp'eed differfen' tiatinggears interposed between thernwhich are adapted to movement" independent of each other none of"v which" are iii mesh with I both the mot on-gear and driven gear t'ithe same i time" and mechanism brought into actionby the-resistance of the load t the power, whereby thespeed of driven gear may be differentiated from that'of" the nice tor-gear or made coincident therewith; as

desiredi 5 3i In mechanism of the; class 1' tated the. r d

shaft, a gear upon then'ibtor-sh f k gear i 'pi f i d i ha t ff nl e P tweefiiflefit:, p i d flr w able speed diiferentiat' g gea'rs'f supported upon the interposed-shaft, none of which are in mesh with: the m ter-g ar: and the driven gear at' thef same tinr'ie, devices" connecting each of" said difierentiatingf' gears "with the oth rs,- whereby the rnovementjoreach will be transmitted to the other and a; controller to regulatethe degreepfmovemeht.

4. In' mechanism of the classs'tat'ed' the combination of a; motor-shaft" anda dr en shaft; a gear uponthe motor-shaft, anether ear u on the" driven shaft}, a shaft inter posed" between them, independently mev able s" "reed-differentiating gears supported uponthe iiiter'p'osedshaftj none ofwhichare in meshwith the motor-gear and the'd'riven, gear at the same time, devices connecting each of said differentiating gears with the others, whereby the movement of each will be transmitted to the others, and an adjustablecontroller adapted to secure uniform as well as variable speed between the motorgear and driven'gear. a v

5. In mechanism of the class stated the roo combination of a-motor-shaft and a driven the degree of such movement. 3

6. In mechanism of the class stated the combination of a motor-shaft and a driven shaft, a gear upon the motor-shaft, another gear upon the driven shaft, a shaft interposed between them, independently-movable speed-differentiating gears supported upon said interposed shaft, the teeth whereof are broken away throughout more than half their circumferences, devices connecting the differentiating gears each with the others and means, engaging with said last named devices whereby the independent movement of the differentiating gears is controlled and regulated; l

7 In mechanism of the class stated the combination with a suitably-supported motor-gear and suitablysupported driven gear, of speed-differentiating gears interposed between them, the cogs of which are broken away or intermitted throughout more than half their circumferences respectively, and which gears never engage simultaneously with both the motor-gear and driven gear, and means connecting the differentiating gears, whereby the motion of each is transmitted to the others."

8. In mechanism of the class stated in combination with a suitably-supported motorgear andsuitably-supported driven gear, of

speeddiiferentiati-ng gears interposed between them,' the, cogs of which are broken away or intermitted -throughout more than half their circumferences respectively, and which gears never engage simultaneously withboth' the'rnotor-gear and driven gear,

and Inea'nsconnecting the differentiating gears, whereby the motion of each is trans mittedto the others and an adjustable device whereby'the-transrnitted speed may bemade coincident with ordiiferentiated from that of the motor-gear.

9. In mechanism of the class stated the combination of a motor-shaft and a driven shaft, a gear upon the motor-shaft, another gear upon the driven shaft, speed-differentiating gears interposed between them, all rotating about a common and fixed center, none of which are in mesh with both the motor-gear and the driven gear at the same time, devices which connect all of said diiferentiating gears together, whereby the speed transmitted by them is varied, and which in operation revolve about a different and movable center.

10. In mechanism of the class stated the combination of a motor-shaft and a driven shaft, a gear upon the motor-shaft, another gear upon the driven shaft, speed-differentiating gears interposed between them, all rotating about a common and fixed center, none of which are in mesh with both the motor-gear and the driven gear at the same time, devices which connect all of said differentiating gears together, whereby the speed transmitted by them may be varied and means whereby said connecting devices may be made to revolve about a center coincident with or different from that about which the difi'erentiating gears revolve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARNOLD- W. PUPKE.

Witnesses:

F. M. DONSBACH, WALTER H. CRITTENDEN. 

